Tuesday, August 31, 2010

This Saturday, September 4th, the Cold War Air Museum will be participating with aircraft flying and on display along with the Commemorative Air Force DFW wing.

Many more of our aircraft, including the MiG-21 and MiG-23 will be on static display with CAF aircraft as well as helicopters and armor Ft Hood. A Blackhawk, Chinook, Bradley fighting vehicle and M1 "Abrams" tank are expected.

Our UH-1B, 62-1890, a veteran aircraft in need of restoration will be on special display. Come help raise funds to restore this veteran aircraft to flying condition.

Check the museum schedule and location page for an aerial view of the airport and parking areas or click here for an area map. Select "get directions" for driving assistance.

Thousands attended last years event, pictures from l;ast years event can be found on our previous blog post. Pictures from this year's event will be posted after the event. Be sure to be in one of them!

Friday, August 20, 2010

From time to time, the Cold War Air Museum takes pleasure in announcing a new museum board member. While we value all of our associates and volunteers and respect their input, it falls to the board to help set a final direction and goals for the museum. Recently (and regretfully), one of our founding board members passed away. We are fortunate in having someone of experience and ability to fill in.

Pete Coz (on the left), is shown here being congratulated by Museum President Bruce Stringfellow.

Although he is originally from Massachusetts (and received his College degree in Maine), Pete has diligently been studying (be'n stud'den) “Texan” for the last year in order to be able to communicate with the other Directors. His ability to flawlessly mimic John Wayne and his repertoire of classic movie lines, as well as his great sense of humor has helped him to be accepted by most of the natives.

A veteran of Desert Shield/Desert Storm, he has amassed over 3600 flight hours while advancing through positions of increasing responsibility during 21 years of service. Pete holds all instructor designations for the AH-1W and pioneered the training program for the first Cobra pilots in Taiwan in 1993. Now holding FAA Commercial Fixed and Rotary wing ratings, he is one of the few in the U.S. to hold a civilian rating in the Mi-24 Hind helicopter.

Lt Col (U.S.M.C. Ret.) Pete Coz and our other veteran associates bring a level of professionalism and experience to the museum which we greatly appreciate. With the increasing number of events to which our associate's aircraft are being flown, flight safety is always on our minds. His serious side (reflected below, studying before a flight review) is complemented by an ability and desire to communicate with the troops about what needs to be done and why.

With two “Pete's” active in the group (see feature associate Pete Taylor), Coz has been frocked with the nickname “Colonel Pete” to avoid confusion.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

What aircraft is more emblematic of the Cold War than the SR-71 Blackbird? Museum associate Tracey Austin met Colonel Richard Graham (ret. USAF) at the EAA's AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin when he was signing the three books he'd written on the SR-71 and his adventures as a pilot and commander of the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing.

She was surprised to learn that he lives right here in the Dallas area! Moreover, he's made a special project of working with the Frontiers of Flight museum to display the SR-71 simulator that's been placed on loan with them.

Colonel Graham offered Tracey a personal tour of the simulator and told her that she could bring a friend. One of the museum directors, Jon, wasted no time in accepting her offer to go see the simulator.

Here, Colonel Graham is showing Tracey the front cockpit of the simulator. As it sits, the simulator could possibly be made operational (all the equipment is there) but a substantial effort needs to take place to hook everything up and get it working again.

Pilots trained in the simulator for 100 hours before flying the SR-71. After that it's only 5 flights in the dual-control version of the Blackbird and you're off to operational missions.

The reel that pulls the pilot's legs back to the ejection seat just before Elvis leaves the building. That, or Col. Graham is interviewing Tracey's legs.

Colonel Graham went over all the systems with a laser pointer and was very detailed in his descriptions. It was a fantastic briefing. He logged 600+ hours in the Blackbird in the seven years he flew it.

Here Jon is seen with the navigator's trainer in the background. The navigator's cockpit is a separate cabinet. One new crew is selected per year and they get individual training before they get "married'. Once formed as a crew they always fly together (unusual)... so much so that if one gets sick the other doesn't fly.

The fabulous J58 continuously afterburning engine. The SR-71 uses ramjet magic such that 80% of the thrust produced is by the ramjet and only 20% by the engine at Mach 3+.

The Frontiers of Flight Museum is also the permanent home of the Apollo 7 capsule.

The three books that Colonel Graham has written are available on Amazon.com.

It was interesting to learn that Colonel Graham is also retired from American Airlines, where he was a pilot. Still active as a Flight Instructor, he prefers teaching primary students... imagine learning the first basics of flying from a former SR-71 pilot!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Miguel, photographer and museum associate, frequently visits the Cold War Air Museum and uses our aircraft, equipment and uniforms as an accent for his work. Our blog post MiGs and Models
featuring his work remains popular.

Miguel works successfully to present the ladies and the aircraft professionally.

Miguel enjoys flying in the aircraft and showing the aircraft in flight as well as presenting the models in his work.

With a number of different uniforms and accessories, he tries to bring out interesting views and combination's.

In flight, or static, Miguel works to bring out the best.

Miguel's collection of photos includes many more aircraft, locations and models. Many more can be found on his Flickr page.

Our thanks once again to Miguel for letting us use some of his photos on the blog.

Monday, August 2, 2010

We love visiting small town Texas and are happy to do our part with educating the kids about History and Aviation.

Horses and Hinds, both are expensive to feed. We are happy to report that Patriotism is still alive and well in the Heartlands.

And of course, our tall and handsome aviators are always well received by the young ladies of the villages we visit.

While these local events are tremendous fun and a great attraction for the local communities to draw attention to their airports, we will soon be hosting and traveling to larger events as well. Watch for future announcements regarding upcoming events at Lancaster Airport on September 4th, Temple-Killeen/Ft Hood on September 10th and the Alliance Air Show in Ft. Worth, October 30 & 31st.

Cold War Air Museum

The Cold War Air Museum is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the restoration and maintenance of Cold War era aircraft with a special emphasis on aircraft flown by the former Soviet Union.

Most of the museum's 20+ aircraft are in flying condition or being made ready for flight.

The museum is located on Lancaster Municipal Airport, twenty minutes south of Dallas, Texas. The museum has tour hours of 10am to 4pm on Saturdays but is open all day most weekends. There is a cafe on the field that serves a full breakfast and lunch menu.